Prague, July 17, 2019 – Refinery and petrochemical group Unipetrol and its Foundation have closed the school year, too. Together, they provide funding to support chemistry and other fields of science not only at secondary schools and higher education institutions, but they also promote and encourage chemistry students at primary schools. During the past school year, more than 1,000 students visited the Unipetrol Group production sites within excursions and almost 100 students took part in practical training or got a paid student job. A total of 111 secondary school students and undergraduates received scholarships to support their study efforts. Unipetrol and its Foundation distributed almost CZK 8 million among students and schools in the past school year.
“Our Group and Foundation have been involved in support of education over a long term. In the past school year, we donated almost CZK 8 million to students within merit scholarships and we also supported selected projects prepared by primary and secondary schools and universities,” says Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the Unipetrol Group. “We hold meetings with principals of primary and secondary schools in the Ústí Region at the end of each school year. During these meetings, we summarize our current cooperation and develop plans for the next school year. This year’s meetings were attended by 27 principals and teachers who received, among others, a brochure about chemistry instruction (In Czech: “Výuka chemie”) whose publication was also supported by the Unipetrol Foundation,” Tomáš Herink adds.
Unipetrol has been a strategic partner of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague for 18 years. This cooperation culminated in 2015 with the establishment of the University Centre of the University of Chemistry and Technology directly on the production premises in Litvínov-Záluží. During the study, students get familiar with work in the production plant and they have easier access to linking their theoretical insights with practice. “Many of them are involved in our company’s research activities during the study and are in a better position to find a suitable job after graduation,” explains Michał Chmiel, HR Director of the Unipetrol Group.
More than 50% of Unipetrol Group employees work in the Chempark production site in Záluží u Litvínova, which is why the cooperation with primary and secondary schools is the most intensive here. Unipetrol has had the closest and longest track record of cooperation with the Educhem Secondary School in Meziboří and with Schola Humanitas in Litvínov. Students from these schools can get scholarships, attend the obligatory two-week practice in the production plant, and they can earn money during a summer job. Not only partner schools, but also other schools can use the option to tour the production premises as provided by the Unipetrol Centre of Research and Education (UniCRE). “We always seek to ensure consistency and complexity. Our production plants in Záluží u Litvínova, Kralupy nad Vltavou and Neratovice have been visited by more than 1,000 students over the past 10 months. Students are always interested in study possibilities, work at Unipetrol, as well as in the amount of wage,” Michał Chmiel explains.
Spolana Neratovice, which is another company that is part of the Unipetrol Group, offers not only conventional school tours to the production site, practical training and summer jobs for students, but it has also organised the second year of an entertaining educational and chemical competition, “A Challenge for a Chemist” (In Czech: Výzva pro chemika). The three-round contest for 8th and 9th graders from schools in the area of Mělník and Klatovy was attended by 17 teams of five from 11 schools. They had to complete practical chemistry assignments as well as to answer quiz questions from chemistry and the related fields. For more information please go to
www.vyzvaprochemika.cz
Unipetrol supports education through its Foundation, as well. The Foundation provides support to primary and secondary schools and to secondary school and university students and teachers. In the past school year, the Foundation distributed a total of CZK 1.8 million in scholarships among 48 secondary school and university students of science and technical fields. In the grant scheme supporting educational and scientific activities of secondary and primary schools, the Foundation allocated CZK 2.8 million to 18 schools around the country.
The Foundation also popularises chemistry among primary school students through a series of educational and entertaining programmes entitled “A Wonderful Day with Chemistry” (In Czech: Báječný den s chemií) which was attended by more than 2,000 children last school year. It also supports a mobile chemical-physical laboratory, EDUbus, which goes around schools and organises tailored experimental lessons for students and teachers. Last school year, 2,000 pupils visited this EDUbus roadshow. More information about the mission of the Unipetrol Foundation and individual schemes is available at
www.nadaceunipetrol.cz.
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